This qualifies as a gloat as well...I guess.
Just received and set up a new Grizzly 1023SL this past week. There are a few folks on SMC buying a new saw and this one was of interest to several so I'll post my "first impression review".
First let me say I was looking for an accurate table saw that I could afford and small enough to fit my small garage shop. After a year of hands on shopping and reading advice on SMC I was convinced that I would not be happy unless the table adjustments were easy to perform and to get set up accurately. That is why I excluded any saw without cabinet mounted trunnions. This left out contractor saws & the Delta hybrid, so I narrowed my final choice down between the Griz 1023SL, DeWalt & Craftsman hybrid. These were the three saws I felt met my criteria of quality, size and price. The Griz could be delivered for about $1000.00. DeWalt about the same. The Craftsman list price was about the same but could be bought at a better price depending on sales and extra discounting. Although I thought the Craftsman was & still is a good value, I decided on the Grizzly 1023SL. Sight on-seen I perceived that it was a heavier duty machine and was hoping it would be a little beefier in a few places that the Craftsman seemed to be a little thin.
So I ordered the Griz on 12/16/05. Saw arrived 12/22. (quicker than expected given Christmas season) I picked it up at the terminal because Overnight freight wanted an extra $85.00 for lift gate service and I thought that was too much. They set it in my truck with a fork lift and I drove it to its new home. It came packed in a heavy cardboard box and bolted onto a small pallet. The top was protected with thick styrofoam. I would have liked a little heavier packaging but these was no damage and that's the main goal. Besides, Grizzly has good customer service as do most woodworking machine suppliers & would have replaced any damages parts.
It's a heavy beast so, in an effort to lighten the load, I took off the cast iron table and emptied out the loose parts inside the cabinet. The table comes off easily and was very easy to adjust when putting back on. (very very pleased with this feature)
It was still heavy but 2 of us managed to get it down and onto the Shop Fox mobile base. I was pleased with the mobile base. It performs better than expected. I would prefer not to have a mobile base but my small garage shop dictates mobility. The base "almost" fits perfectly and it was easy to shim out the slop which I highly recommend doing.
I was very pleased with the material of construction. When comparing products it was hard to find specifications on cabinet steel thicknesses (gage). While I thought the other saws were OK material wise considering their price, I didn't like the small plastic handwheels and the thin gage cabinet sheet metal. The Griz exceeded my wishes on both of these issues. The handwheels are very heavy and the trunnions run much smoother than any other saw I test drove. (display models are seldom set up properly so it may not be fair to discount a certain brand based on how they perform in the store....but I didn't have anything else to compare it to)
The cabinet seemed heavier than any of the others and it had some bracing inside to help stiffen the sides. The trunnions were much heavier than others I had seen in the hybrid class. All in all I was very please by what I saw right out of the box. Now it was time to set it up.
Instructions were clear and easy to follow. There really wasn't much to do and it went together easier than expected. The hardest, most time consuming task was cleaning off the goop used to protect the table tops. I used mineral spirits. Put it on and let it set for a few minuets and the goop came off OK. There might be a better solvent to use but this worked OK for me.
Re-mounting the main table was easy. The two cast wings were also easy to attach but I could have used an extra set of hands to help hold it in place while the bolts were tightened. This brings up a point. I assembled the table saw by myself but a helper would be a big help as some items are heavy. There are a few other items to mount like the on/off switch etc but they are all straight forward and shouldn't be a problem.
The Shop Fox fence is a Bies clone and packaged very well. It also comes with good instructions and goes on easily. (A helper would be nice here as the front and back rails are heavy gage angle iron.) The fence, once installed was perfectly square to the table slots.
The miter gage was better than expected. Not as nice as some aftermarket units but usable. It is very heavy and has front and back adjustment screws to take out any slop. I was not expecting the adjustment capability and was pleasantly surprised.
The saw did not include a blade. When reading past reviews of this saw the consensus was "nice saw but it came with a bad blade" so I was not disappointed that a blade was not included. I ordered a new blade with the saw and this so far is my only disappointment. The blade (Oldham) has a wobble in it. (About 0.012") Not sure if this is within normal specs but I don't want a blade this far out.
The saw DID come with a motor cover. (see pic) Previous reviews mentioned that the cover was an option. I'm guessing Griz did away with the blade and included the motor cover. The cover is the same gage as the rest of the cabinet and fits nicely.
Once assembled I checked alignments and found everything just about right. The one adjustment I had to make was the 45 degree tilt limit screw.
The blade guard and splitter are very weak. Compared to the rest of the saw, the poor quality of the guard seems out of place. (It is also a weakness on all the other saws I looked at) Considering this is a "safety" item you would think that a manufacturer would beef the design a bit.
The throat plates (came with a standard and dado plate) are very heavy duty and easy to adjust with the 4-set screws. But as with all throat plates, the gap is too wide for my liking so I quickly made 4 zero clearance plates (using the existing plates as a template and cutting them on the router table with a pattern bit)
After assembly I waxed-her-up and took her for a spin. (the saw)
First Impression is very good. The sturdiness and materials of construction exceeded my expectation. It is very heavy, very solid and powerful. My old Craftsman RAS really struggled with 2" maple but the Griz cuts it with no hesitation & no burning.
Based on what I've seen so far I feel I made the correct buying decision for my situation. The other two saws I was considering are also nice units. The DeWalt has many nice features but at just about the exact same price as the Griz 1023, was not my choice. The Orion folks have put together a real nice saw for Craftsman. It would still be my saw of choice if I did not have 220 available. If comparing the Craftsman at full list price, I think the Griz is a much better value but some folks buy the Craftsman for less than $700.00 and at that price it is a great value as well. But for me, the Griz is what I was looking for and I am happy with the quality.
I've posted some pics showing:
1) The saw in my truck as it was shipped in the box.
2) Saw undressed (out of box) See motor cover.
3) Close up of table adjustment bolts (see goop on table edge)
4) Saw with main table off setting in mobile base.
5) Close up of the trunnions.
6) Table top GOOP. Some call this greese but I call it $%#@&^%$@!
7) Saw with main table & 2 cast extensions attached.
8) Saw with fence.
Hopes this helps someone. PM or e-mail me with any questions.
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